The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor 1989)
The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor) 'is a remake of the original ''Kimba the White Lion series. The series was produced by Tezuka Productions and first shown on TV in Japan between October 12, 1989 - October 11, 1990 on TV Tokyo. As Osamu Tezuka had passed away after the first six episodes were completed, there is some speculation as to how true this series was to what its creator had in mind. With the exception of those first few episodes, the story line is very different from both the original manga or 1965 series. Some fans criticized the series for his dark episodes (including drama, death, unnecessary killings etc...) at the point to consider the series unfaithful to the original intents of the director. However even if Tezuka passed away after the production of the first six episodes, darker elements are present from the beginning: even if he did not scripted the following episodes, the general outline for the series was established in the pre-production. Osamu Tezuka was no stranger to the use of serious and drama contents, notably the original manga Jungle Emperor included them (with the subsequent change of the dramatic ending in the anime). English Dub In 1998, Pioneer Family Entertainment (now known as NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan) dubbed 13 episodes of the original series and released it directly to home video. The TV series was given its English title: “The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion”. Japanese episodes 2 and 4 were recut to skip a story arc where Kimba meets with Kenichi before he goes back to the jungle (Episode 3 was cut completely). Therefore, besides the first episode, the English episodes have a different order than the original Japanese ones. In general, most of the dubbed episodes have cut footage, due to lightening the gore, violence and blood. The score was also entirely redone digitally by synthesizers. Production was canceled after the 13 episodes were dubbed. “The New Adventures of Kimba the White Lion“ (Jungle Emperor) Dub has yet to be released on DVD. The English Dub remains incomplete. Production Staff Japanese '''Director: * Takashi Ui Writers: * Susumu Gotohda * Yukio Kurata * Takyuki Matsutani Character Design: * Yoshiaki Kawajiri * Osamu Tezuka Original Music: * Tomoyuki Asakawa Lead Artists: * Katsumata Hageshi * Masumi Saito Producers: * Daisuke Baba (Nikkeisha) * Kuniaki Ōnishi (Gakken) * TV Tokyo Characters *Leo *Tony *Coco *Laiya *Kurosaji (Uncle Rhino) *Bubu *Toto *Vulture *Kenichi *Ban Shinsuke *Ham Egg *Kutter *Lamp *Queen Conga *Leona *Panja *Eliza *Pagoola *Bizo *Buzara *Marody *Keruru & Amaji *The Mammoth (Great Mother) *Bongo *Silverback *Garu *Myu *Masa *Gibo *Elder Dolf Animals seen in the series *Lion *Parrot *Gazelle *Black Rhinoceros *Mandrill *African Elephant *Warthog *Leopard and black panther *Vulture *Wooly Mammoth *Cheetah *Zebra *Hippo *Giraffe *Cape buffalo *Wildebeest *Ostrich *Flamingo *Eagles *Hawk *Gorilla *Monkeys *Hyena *Cape painted dog *Gemsbok *Sable antelope *Hartebeest *Nile crocodile *Meerkat *squirrels *Camels *African penguins *Eland *Cows *okapi *Snakes *Chameleon *Aardvark *Carcharadontosaurus or Tyrannosaurus Rex *Dryosaurus or Hypsilophodon *Archaeopteryx Episode list *1. Birth ("The Successor" in the Dub) *2. Promise *3. Departure *4. Friends (#2 in the Dub) *5. Homeland (#3 in the Dub) *6. Intruder (#4 - "The Invaders" in the Dub) *7. Courage (#5 in the Dub) *8. Warning (#6 in the Dub) *9. Companions (#7 - "Flash Flood" in the Dub) *10. Freedom (#8 in the Dub) *11. The Law of the Jungle (#9 in the Dub) *12. Red Wings (#10 in the Dub) *13. Prophecy (#11 in the Dub) *14. Wild (#12 in the Dub) *15. Failure (#13 in the Dub) *16. White Beast *17. Pride *18. Fighting Spirit *19. Life *20. Leader *21. Homecoming *22. Reunion *23. Migration *24. Friendship *25. Sacrifice Part 1 *26. Sacrifice Part 2 *27. Mourning *28. Image *29. Protection *30. Adventure *31. Trust *32. Nature *33. Paradise *34. Time Illusion *35. Threat *36. Reconciliation *37. Father *38. Best Friend *39. Nightmare *40. Escape *41. Premonition *42. Coexistence *43. Decision *44. Infiltration *45. Rebirth *46. Longing *47. Crown *48. Challenge *49. Concentration *50. Victory *51. Harmony Part 1 *52. Harmony Part 2 Gallery Jungle_Emperor_Leo_logo.jpg Kimba 1989 vhs releases.png|1998 English Dub VHS Releases Trivia *This anime series is the first to feature the animals that were not featured in the manga nor the 1965 series, such as the Wildebeest, the Meerkat, the Penguin etc. *This is the first series to feature Tommy's Hat. *Tom, Tab, Mary, Jack, and the Destroyers of the Desert were absent in this series.(Queen Conga appears, but she doesn't have an alternate identity since the 1965 series). * It's the first Jungle Emperor Leo series, and one of the first Tezuka Anime, to air on Tv Tokyo. * In 1990, there was a tie-in game planned to release on the Japanese Famicom titled, "Jungle Emperor", but it was cancelled. Resources * Kimba 89 Episode Guide * Credits and Production Staff: German DVD Category:Series